It’s a short walk from the SFJAZZ Center to the War Memorial Opera House, which is where the evening-length ballet The Nutcracker  made its North America premiere in the winter of 1944. An immediate sensation, the production unleashed an army of Nutcrackers large and small that march across the country come the holidays, turning Tchaikovsky’s spirited score into an enchanting soundtrack for the season.

In 1960, at the urging of Billy Strayhorn, the Duke Ellington Orchestra recorded The Nutcracker Suite (Columbia), a brilliant jazz interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s music. While largely forgotten today, the popular album marked a watershed in one of American music’s most consequent and productive partnerships, as Ellington gave Strayhorn equal billing for the first time on the album’s cover.

For bassist, composer, and arranger Marcus Shelby, Ellington and Strayhorn’s Nutcracker Suite arrangements offer an ideal vehicle for his talent-laden New Orchestra, an ensemble he modeled after Ellington’s. Reveling in Tchaikovsky’s enduring melodies, Shelby’s band with guest vocalist Tiffany Austin breathes new life into a singular cultural fusion that gracefully marries the great Russian composer with the orchestral language of two nonpareil jazz innovators, and in addition, features original arrangements of holiday music and black spirituals.

Healdsburg Jazz will celebrate the holidays with a performance of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s Harlem Nutcracker Suite by artistic director Marcus Shelby and his orchestra. This will be an amazing concert for young people and adults to experience a reimagining of this holiday classic set in Harlem to the music of Ellington and Strayhorn performed live, an exceedingly rare experience you won’t want to miss! The program will also include Christmas songs, spirituals, and songs from around the world.

The evening will open with the Healdsburg Jazz Youth Ensemble, then the Marcus Shelby Orchestra will perform Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s Harlem Nutcracker Suite, and the evening will conclude with Holiday and Christmas songs, spirituals and songs from around the world by the Marcus Shelby Orchestra featuring vocalist Tiffany Austin and poet Endit Pickett.

Orchestra members include Phil Vieux (alto saxophone), Michael Booker (alto saxophone), Patrick Wolff (tenor saxophone/clarinet), Danny Brown (tenor saxophone), Melecio Magdaluyo (baritone saxophone), Danny Lubin-Laden (trombone), Riley Baker (trombone), Rich Lee (bass trombone), Erik Andrews (trumpet), Mike Olmos (trumpet), Chris Clark (trumpet), Richard Benitez (trumpet), Greg Jacobs (piano), Marcus Shelby (bass), Jemal Ramirez (drums), and Tiffany Austin (vocals). Also, Enid Pickett (poet) and Andi Wong (slideshow).

There will also be a toy drive, poetry, storytelling, and other holiday celebrations to close out the year.